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A white spirit means, you guessed it, no oak aging. ‘Honesty’ goes nearly directly from still to bottle. We also bottle it a bit warm. 95 proof. We ‘re trying to get as much as pear into the bottle as we can.

So what’s honest about ‘Honesty’? A more traditional French, German or Austrian ‘Poire Williams’ would have been distilled from 100% Bartlett (aka Williams) pears. Those have a very distinct and powerful aroma. AeppelTreow Honesty comes, in great or lesser part each year, from distilling the stuff at the bottoms of our pear wine and perry tanks. And what’s left over in the filters and pumps during transfers. While we take great care in local-sourcing Brown Dog Whiskey and WI Apple Brandy, Honesty just kind of happens.

Light pear bouquet followed by fire. Honesty is pear lightning. Not as brilliant ‘pear skin’ flavor as the best of its class, Honesty does have a nice balance and a lingering hint of spice that makes for a nice digestif or cocktail spirit.

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This brandy is a varietal brandy – just one kind of grape went into it. LaCresent grapes grown at Vernon Vineyards. LaCresent is known for it’s aroma, and this brandy is nearly perfume. It’s brilliant and floral and very not Korbel.

In keeping with our historic inspiration, our Brandy was aged in new, charred oak, as we believe all early American spirits would have been. That adds a certain smoky/spiciness that is unusual for a brandy.

Why ‘Immature’? No, it doesn’t spend its time whinging. Sorry – whining. Federal regulation say that ‘brandy’, unadorned, must be at least two years old. But we didn’t want that much oak infusion. Or to loose any more aroma to oxidation through the wood grain. So we bottled it early.

Warm apple and spice notes. Less heady than French Calvados.
Intentionally made to show off fruit and wood.
A modern interpretation of colonial ‘apple jack’.

Out of the barrel, Charles’ favorite. Into the barrel, Milissa’s favorite, as our Distillatrix isn’t fond of oak and prefers white spirits off the still. Bottled by the barrel – and each one is a little different. There is just so much going on in this spirit that it’s hard to decide what to do with it – first. Neat? An ice cube? A little raw sugar and bitters? Oh, I know, a champagne cocktail!